Following the launch of the Government’s 2016 Schools that
Work for Everyone consultation, ministers argued that
more good schools were needed as many children do not live within a
reasonable distance of such schools. The need for greater access to
good school places has underpinned the government’s proposals to
expand certain types of schools, including free schools, faith
schools and selective schools.
However, the government has been silent on the 110,000 pupils in
special schools in England. This new
analysis by the Education Policy Institute
assesses whether this omission is justified, by examining how far
pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
currently have to travel to get to a special school.
Key findings
The government has previously expressed concern that some
children are living more than 3 miles from a good school.
However, we find that pupils with SEND are having to travel far
further to reach any special school:
- In cities, the average pupil at an urban special
school travels around 4 miles each
way. In rural areas the
average travel distance is 10 miles each
way.
- There are a significant number of pupils that are travelling
much further still. Even in wider city
areas, around 1 in 10 pupils travel around
9 miles each way in order to get to school.
- In the most rural areas in England, the figure
is even more striking – with around 1 in 10 special school pupils
having to travel over 23 miles one way just to get to
school.
- Overall, pupils in special
schools are, on average, travelling
around three times as far as pupils in mainstream
schools.
While longer travel distances to special schools are to be
expected, improving access to other school types with shorter
travel distances has been prioritised over special schools:
-
A key justification for the government’s prior plans to
open new selective schools was that pupils currently travel
further to get to them. This is correct - we find that
on average pupils in grammars are having to travel further than
those at non-selective mainstream schools.
- However, comparing this with special schools, we
find that, on average pupils attending a special school travel at
least as far as those in selective schools.
- The government has set out a commitment to improve access to
good schools – yet it is unclear as to why measures
to address the long travel distances made by pupils
to all special schools have not also been
considered.
Changes to school transport provision for those with SEND:
- For those attending special schools reliant on home to school
transport services, there is a risk that pressures
on local authority budgets and changes to local provisions could
pose a threat to the place of some pupils in the school
system.
Jon Andrews, report author and Director for School System
and Performance at the Education Policy Institute, said:
“There is an ongoing debate about providing children with a
good local school. However, relatively little is said about the
needs of the 110,000 pupils in England who attend special
schools. Our analysis finds that these pupils are, on average,
travelling three times as far as other pupils to get to school
each day.
“For some pupils these distances risk becoming
insurmountable. A reliance on home to school transport leaves
pupils vulnerable to cuts in local authority budgets and changes
to local provision. In the absence of alternative arrangements,
these pupils could end up being forced out of the system
altogether.”
Notes to Editors
Related EPI publications on access to schools:
